Will Venable is 100 percent committed to Cubs — for now

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Cubs third base coach Will Venable found himself in an interesting spot Saturday morning at Cubs Convention.

During a coaching staff panel, a young fan asked Venable, who interviewed for the Astros managerial opening on Friday, if he’s leaving the Cubs.

Venable’s answer?

“No, I’m not,” he said, drawing a chorus of cheers from the room packed full of Cubs fans.

That is, for now. In a media session following the panel, Venable clarified he’s 100 percent committed to his job with the Cubs, but he’s also taking any potential promotions seriously.

“Obviously you have to take opportunities seriously, you have to think about those things,” Venable said. “I’m a Chicago Cub right now. Until that changes, I’m super excited to be here, committed to this team. Until someone gives me an opportunity to have a different job, this is where I’m at and I plan on being here.”

Friday’s interview marks Venable’s third for a manager job this winter (Cubs, Giants). He declined to talk specifics on his meeting with the Astros, but said he was honored they asked to meet with him. He also called Houston’s recent cheating scandal “pretty significant.”

Despite not securing a managerial gig this winter, Venable realizes he’s gained invaluable experience going through the interview process. He believes he’s a better big-league coach for it.

“Yeah, it’s great. All these opportunities for me, it’s preliminary, I understand that,” he said. “I also understand that it’s a really good opportunity for me to go and talk about baseball, share my ideas and my beliefs and the process to prepare, where I have to define my beliefs and my principles.

“It’s helping me grow as a coach and [it’s] gonna help me be a better coach for the Chicago Cubs. The process has been great and I’m looking forward to using my experience and talking to different baseball people and hearing their ideas and their perspective and applying it to what I do with the Cubs.

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